Trust Score

pro

GET/v1/score/trust

Calculates a composite trust score (0-100) from 7 weighted signals: domain age (20%), Tranco global popularity ranking (20%), WHOIS transparency (15%), certificate quality — EV/OV/DV type and validity period (15%), registrar reputation (15%), DNSSEC adoption (10%), and typosquat risk analysis (5%). Returns a risk level (low/medium/high/critical), individual trust factor scores, and specific red flags identified. Methodology draws on DomainTools risk scoring, Google Safe Browsing threat indicators, and Certificate Transparency (RFC 6962) data.

What It Does

Analyzes 7 trust dimensions in parallel. Domain age scoring (max 20 pts) awards full marks for domains registered 5+ years ago, scaling down to 0 pts for newly registered domains — over 40% of newly registered domains are associated with fraud. Tranco ranking scoring (max 20 pts) gives 20 pts for top 1K sites, 18 pts for top 10K, 15 pts for top 100K, and 10 pts for top 1M. WHOIS transparency scoring (max 15 pts) awards 15 pts for visible registrant details, 12 pts when privacy protection is used. Certificate quality scoring (max 15 pts) differentiates EV (12 pts), OV (10 pts), and DV (7 pts) certificates with bonus points for long validity periods. Registrar reputation scoring (max 15 pts) awards 15 pts for premium registrars, 12 pts for ICANN-accredited, and 5 pts for standard registrars. DNSSEC scoring (10 pts) validates chain presence. Typosquat risk scoring (max 5 pts) detects if the domain itself appears to be a typosquat of a known brand, deducting points for similar-domain patterns.

Why It's Useful

Trust scoring is critical for phishing detection, fraud prevention, and brand protection. Over 70% of newly registered domains are malicious or suspicious according to Palo Alto Unit 42 research. A composite trust score enables automated triage of suspicious domains, real-time fraud scoring for payment transactions, and proactive brand impersonation detection. The multi-signal approach avoids false positives — a single weak signal (like privacy-protected WHOIS) does not unfairly penalize legitimate domains when other trust factors are strong.

Use Cases

SOC Analyst / Threat Intelligence

Phishing Triage & Investigation

Score domains reported in phishing emails or extracted from threat feeds to prioritize investigation. Low-trust domains (score <30) with recent registration dates, no DNSSEC, and DV certificates are strong phishing indicators.

Reduce phishing investigation time by 60-80% with automated trust-based triage that surfaces the highest-risk domains first.

Fraud Analyst / Payment Security

Real-Time Fraud Prevention

Evaluate the trustworthiness of domains used in e-commerce transactions, referral URLs, or checkout redirects. Block or flag transactions involving domains with critical or high risk levels before payment processing.

Prevent payment fraud by blocking transactions routed through low-trust domains — catching infrastructure that traditional blocklists miss during the 24-48 hour gap.

Brand Protection / Digital Risk

Brand Impersonation Detection

Monitor for low-trust domains that incorporate your brand name, trademarks, or product names. Combine trust scoring with typosquat detection to identify domains registered specifically for brand abuse campaigns.

Identify brand impersonation domains before they launch phishing campaigns — the first 32 days after registration is the optimal detection window.

Third-Party Risk Analyst

Vendor & Partner Due Diligence

Score partner and vendor domains as part of onboarding due diligence. Flag vendors with trust scores below your organization threshold (e.g., <60) for manual review. Check domain age, registrar quality, and certificate type as baseline trust indicators.

Data-driven vendor trust assessment that catches domains with suspicious registration patterns or poor infrastructure hygiene.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
`domain`	string	Required	The domain to evaluate trustworthiness for. Analyzed via WHOIS, DNS, CT logs, and Tranco ranking.Example: `example.com`

Response Fields

Field	Type	Description
`domain`	string	The evaluated domain
`score`	number	Composite trust score 0-100 (weighted sum of 7 factors)
`grade`	string	Letter grade: A+ (95-100), A (85-94), B (70-84), C (50-69), D (30-49), F (0-29)
`gradeDescription`	string	Human-readable description of the grade meaning
`breakdown`	object	Individual trust factor scores with score, max, and details
`breakdown.age`	object	Domain registration age analysis (max 20 pts)
`breakdown.ranking`	object	Tranco global popularity ranking (max 20 pts)
`breakdown.whoisPrivacy`	object	WHOIS registrant transparency (max 15 pts)
`breakdown.certificate`	object	Certificate type EV/OV/DV and validity (max 15 pts)
`breakdown.registrar`	object	Registrar accreditation level (max 15 pts)
`breakdown.dnssec`	object	DNSSEC chain validation (max 10 pts)
`breakdown.typosquat`	object	Typosquat pattern detection (max 5 pts)
`recommendations`	array	Actionable recommendations for improving trust score (e.g., enable DNSSEC, upgrade to EV certificate)
`componentCount`	number	Number of trust factors evaluated (max 7, fewer if data unavailable)
`partialFailure`	boolean	Whether any data sources failed during evaluation — score may be less reliable when true
`failedComponents`	array	List of components that failed: whois, certificate, dnssec. Empty when all sources succeed

Code Examples

cURL

curl "https://api.edgedns.dev/v1/score/trust" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d "domain=example.com"

JavaScript

const response = await fetch(
  'https://api.edgedns.dev/v1/score/trust?domain=example.com',
  {
    headers: {
      'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'
    }
  }
);

const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

Python

import requests

response = requests.get(
    'https://api.edgedns.dev/v1/score/trust',
    headers={'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'},
    params={
    'domain': 'example.com'
    }
)

data = response.json()
print(data)

Read the full Trust Score guide

Why it matters, real-world use cases, parameters, response fields, and how to call it from Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini via MCP.

Read the guide →

External References

Learn more about the standards and protocols behind this endpoint.

IANA Special-Purpose Registries RFC 9224 - RDAP

Try This Endpoint

Test the Trust Score endpoint live in the playground.

Open in Playground Get API Key